It seems that the plan for the New York Giants to repeat as Super Bowl champions is in jeopardy.  And it all started just a few weeks ago with the arrest of star wide receiver Plaxico Burress.

Plaxico Burress is the outspoken and often in trouble New York Giant receiver who was suspended after shooting himself in the thigh at a nightclub in New York City. 

Since his suspension, the Giants have lost two games in a row and the offense has stalled.  The Giants front office and coaches say their recent slump has nothing to do with the Plaxico situation but there is no denying the loss of Burress could very well cost the Giants (11-3) the first-round bye that just weeks ago seemed a sure thing.

If the Giants lose their final two games to Carolina (11-3) and Minnesota (9-5) and the Vikings win their last two, then the Giants will play a first-round game.

The Plaxico-less offense has been able to muster only 1 touchdown in losses to the Philadelphia and Dallas the past two weeks.

“There is very little getting done offensively,” coach Tom Coughlin said Monday. “We are just unable right now; we haven’t made a play in the last couple of weeks and we really have to make some plays. We’re very disappointed. The players are disappointed.”

The road won’t get any easier this week with the Panthers coming to the Meadowlands for a game in which the winner will clinch a first-round bye and NFC’s home-field advantage for the postseason.

In addition to the loss of Plaxico – Brandon Jacobs, the “earth” of the “earth, wind and fire” running back trio, has a knee injury that sidelined against the Cowboys last week and may be unavailable for the matchup next week with Carolina.

Plaxico’s replacement Domik Hixon has not stepped up and has dropped at least one sure touchdown pass and the senior citizen of the receivers, Amani Toomer is no longer a deep pass threat.

The Giants offensive line has also played sub-par over the last two weeks.  The offensive line has protected Eli Manning well, but against the Cowboys, Eli was sacked 8 times and 12 times over the last two weeks.

What is going on?

Since Plaxico is out, teams no longer need to double team the receivers. Instead they can position the Safety to stop the run.  And with Brandon Jacobs out, the Giant running attack is suspect.

The one bright spot for the Giants is their defense.  Their defense kept them in the 20-14 loss to Philadelphia and the 20-8 loss to Dallas.

Sundays game will be a testament to the intestinal fortitude of the Giants – but they have come back from adversity before.

Don’t count the Giants out yet!

As reported in USA Today, Jacksonville’s Matt Jones just had one of the best games of his career during what has easily been the best season of his career. So, why is he available in over half of SN leagues?

It probably has a lot to do with that pesky three-game suspension he’s facing for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Jones was arrested for cocaine possession back in July. He pled guilty and entered a drug treatment facility, but the league still handed down a three-game ban. Jones was only able to play last week because he was appealing the ruling, but that appeal is expected to be denied this week.Likely best case scenario is it gets reduced to two games.

It comes at a terrible time for Jones’ owners. He caught eight passes (tying a career high) for 117 yards and a touchdown against the Browns last week, and Jacksonville faces Cincinnati and Detroit the next two weeks. When you factor in that Jones is tied for (64), easily first on the Jags, you would have had a borderline WR2.

As it stands, owners should expect Jones to be suspended this week, but keep checking back for updates just in case the NFL drags out the appeal for another week. If Jones is eligible to play, you’ll want him in your lineups.

It’s tough to hold on to Jones during his suspension, but he’ll get the Vikings (home), Texans (road), Bears (road), Packers (home) and Colts (home) in Weeks 12-16. Those aren’t the bset matchups, especially in the fantasy playoffs, but they’re good enough to make  Jones a WR3 most of those weeks. If he’s dropped, don’t forget about him in a couple weeks.

NFL players know the risks and have to pay the piper if they are caught!